Method of assembling shoe uppers on lasts



Oct. 4, 1966 c. F. BATCHELDER ETAL 3,276,055

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPERS ON LASTS Filed Aug. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INV NT CHARLES E BAT CH ER JEROME ARUBICO ATTORNEYS 1966 c. F. BATCHELDER ETAL 3,276,055

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPERS ON LASTS Filed Aug. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTORS CHARLES F. BATCHELDER JEROME A. RUBICO MZ/Z/M ATTOR NEYS United States Patent 3,276,055 METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPERS 0N LASTS Charles F. Batchelder, Milton, and Jerome A. Rublco, Boston, Mass., assignors to Batchelder Rubico Inc.,

Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 392,480

4 Claims. (Cl. 12-142) This invention comprises a new and improved method of assembling on a shoe last the upper of any shoe which also contains an insole, without restriction on account of the relative heights of the backs of the last and of the upper itself. The method is applicable therefore both to the general run of shoes the backs of which are lower than the backs of the lasts on which they are built and also to shoes and boots which have backs higher than the lasts used in their manufacture.

In one aspect the present invention has a broad application as the initial step of securing the upper to an insole in any procedure in which the positioning of the back of the upper on the last depends on the skill and judgment of the operator.

In another aspect it is an improvement upon the method disclosed and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 371,023, filed May 28, 1964, in accordance with which the correct back height of the upper is determined by measuring the upper from a gauge mark pre-established upon the insole.

In either case our new method provides means of centering the bottom of the back of the upper in its proper position on the last in the assembling process. When this new method is used Without the matching gauge marks disclosed in our above-mentioned co-pending application, the height of the upper can be gauged by a mark on the back of the last if the upper is not higher than the last. For shoes which have higher backs the height of the upper :can be gauged by the amount of the lasting margin of the upper components which are folded over the back end of the insole.

Our improved method is characterized by the employment of a tab of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape as a linking means for attaching the upper to the insole in the assembling process. This tape may be applied to one of the interior components of the upper either before or after the completion thereof. If the tape is applied prior to the completion of the upper, we provide for the temporary masking of its exposed portion to keep that part of the tape from sticking to other objects such as other parts of the upper during the subsequent processing thereof, and during the measuring and marking of the tab if the procedure of our above cited co-pending application is followed.

The attaching of the tape to the upper prior to its completion and the temporary masking of the exposed part of the tape is detailed in the descriptions which fol low. We may, however, defer the taping until the upper is ready to be assembled on the last, preferably after the assembler opens the counter pocket in the back of the upper and before he inserts the counter therein. Taping at that point of the shoemaking process avoids the need of masking the tape, and puts the entire control of the process in the hands of the assembler.

We have discovered that a short length or tab of singlefaced adhesive tape, preferably a pressure-sensitive tape reinforced with longitudinal filaments such as fiberglass, can well serve both as the measuring and marking tab and also as the linking means of fastening the upper to the insole. We prefer to use a piece of adhesive tape of the type described, about three-quarters of an inch wide and about two inches long. The tape should have a 3,276,055 Patented Oct. 4, 1966 ice holding power in shear adhesion commensurate with its tensile strength.

Any interior component of the upper may be utilized in carrying out our improved method and when a counter lining is used in the upper this serves Well as a starting point.

Many counter linings are gored, and have these gores closed by a vertical line of stitching along their center lines. Stitching a tab across such a ridged seam is a fussy job, and cutting the ends of the threads used for such stitching is slow and expensive. An adhesive tape can easily be applied vertically over a gore seam. The short length of tape is less expensive than a tab cut from scrap leather, or one cut integrally with the counter lining. Its application is faster and cheaper than stitching or otherwise attaching a tab of non-adhesive material. For speed and economy the adhesive tabs may be fed conveniently and cut .from a reel by a tape dispenser equipped to do both these operations.

The adhesive tab above described may overlap the flesh side of the counter lining by about an inch, and would extend outwardly beyond the lasting margin of the lining by a like distance. As the counter lining and this adhesive tab will be attached to the upper during subsequent operations in the stitching room, the exposed adhesive face of the tab is covered with a protective masking slip. We have found that if the marginal edge of the counter lining is laid down with its grain side down on a bench and with its marginal edge overlapping the masking slip, the adhesive tab can then be applied as above described and at the same time have its exposed adhesive face covered by the masking slip which is picked up by the adhesive tab. By cutting the masking slip about an inch wide and two inches long it will extend beyond all the edges of the adhesive tabs. We prefer to use a simple jig as shown in the drawing to hold a stack of masking slips during this operation.

It will be noted that the inner end of the masking slip is left free standing on the grain side of the counter lining. This free end will be on the inside of the heel portion of the closed upper, and serves as a handy grip for peeling off the masking slip just before the upper is assembled on the last.

Referring to the second aspect of the invention, it will be apparent that after the completed upper, embodying the adhesive tab and its temporarily attached masking slip, has been measured and the tab marked with an index mark, the upper is ready for assembly. With the removal of the masking slip, the adhesive tab becomes the means of controlling the back height and vertical alignment of the back sea-m of the upper on the last, and also of linking the upper and insole together. The operation is simple. The counter lining is drawn over the back end of the insole on the bottom of the last until the match mark on the tab overlies that on the insole, then the pressure-sensitive face of the tab is pressed to the exposed underside of the insole.

Assemblers may find it convenient to spindle the last for this operation, but no other equipment is needed. For leather insoles with a loose flesh side, or for fiber insoles coated with filler, it may be desirable to apply some cement to the area where the tab will lie, and to allow it to set before assembling.

Assembling an upper to its insole with adhesive tape as the linking means is faster and cheaper than by tacking or stapling, and leaves no nails or staples in the insole.

The use of adhesive tape of the type described as the linking means in assembling an upper to an insole on a last, but without the index marks of our co-pending application, allows the major advantages of that invention to be achieved more simply and economically, without any substantial loss of accuracy in the control of the back height and alignment.

In practicing this alternate method we recommend that the assembler, having inserted a molded counter or stiffener in the back of the upper and having peeled the masking slip from the adhesive tab, insert the last in the upper and spindle the last in a position where he can see the spine of the last and the back of the upper. For control of the back height he may rely upon a score mark at the correct height on the spine of the last, to which he would adjust the top edge of the upper. For control of the vertical alignment of the back of the upper he has unobstructed vision, something he cannot now do on the assembling machine commonly used in shoe factories. Having thus adjusted the back of the upper for both height and alignment, he completes the assembly by pressing the adhesive tab to the exposed underside of the insole.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a jig for holding a stack of masking slips and gauging the position of a quarter lining with respect thereto,

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a quarter lining in gauged position in the jig of FIG. 1,

' FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of a quarter lining with atached masked tab,

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the rear end of a last with a counter lining assembled thereon, and

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing the counter lining as located from a gauge mark on the last.

The jig of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a rectangular block having in one edge a rectangular recess or magazine 11 in which is contained a stack of masking slips 12 of treated paper, or tissue. A gauge bar 13 for the lining is attached to the surface of the block 10 and comprises sections disposed adjacent to the opposite walls of the recess 11 and extending at right angles thereto.

As shown in FIG. 2 a counter lining 14 is accurately located by the gauge bar 13 in position to bridge the recess 11 and the masking slips therein. A short length 15 of pressure-sensitive tape is then pressed into adhesive contact with the lining 14 and the uppermost masking slip 12 in the recess 11. The tape is thus adhesively attached throughout its full length to these underlying elements, viz. the lining and the masking slip. The tape may be drawn from a coil and cut off as it is applied so that about half its length is secured to the quarter lining 14 and half to the masking slip 12.

It will be understood that the counter lining is usually stitched into the upper as its inner integument, the outer integument being omitted in the drawing for the sake of clarity. The counter lining is presented to the jigwith its flesh or inner side uppermost and the masking slip therefore overlaps freely the surface of. the lining that is to be exposed in the finished shoe, as suggested in FIG. 3. In FIG. 2 the adhesive tape is shown as conforming to the contour of the gusset seam 16 of the the lining 14 in the completed upper of which it is a part. The masking slip 12 is then stripped from the tape, the upper is adjusted to the gauge mark for height and straightened symmetrically for vertical alignment, and the now-exposed surface of the pressure-sensitive tab 15 is pressed into adhesive contact with the insole 21. The lining is thus secured accurately in assembled posi- 4 tion and the heel-seat lasting and other conventional shoemaking operations are in order.

FIG. 5 suggests the operation of assembling the counter lining when the tab 15' has been provided with an index mark at a measured distance from the top edge of the lining, or its enclosing upper, as explained in our copending application above identified.

As herein shown the index mark comprises a V-shaped notch 23 which may be punched into the tab and whose vertex determines the critical index point. Having stripped the masking slip as before the tab 15' is drawn forwardly over the insole 21 until the index mark 23 registers with a gauge mark 24 on the insole, or in some cases on the last bottom. The gauge mark 24 has been previously stamped on the insole and may be in the form of a cross which will indicate both the desired lateral and longitudinal position of the tab 15'.

Our invention has been described for purposes of illustration with reference particularly to the counter lining or counter pocket usually found in the upper of a shoe, but it will be understood that any interior component of the upper would serve as well and its employment is within the terms of the claims. For example,

' if no counter lining is employed, the adhesive tab may be attached to the counter stiifener which is included in the upper and the upper located through the medium of the stiffener.

In the specification and claims of this application we have described the practice of the invention by means of pressure-sensitive tape. The benefits ,of the invention could similarly be achieved by using a plain tape, with adhesive applied to either of the parts to be attached, or by using a tape which is heat sealed to one or both of the parts.' It will be understood that such alternatives are Within the scope of this invention.

Our invention also includes within its scope a shoe of novel construction herein shown, viz., one in which an integument of the upper is adhesively attached to the insole by a tab which serves to determine the height of the top edge of the upper at the back of the shoe.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail typical examples of its practice, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a method of assembling a shoe upper in linked relationship with an insole on a last, the steps of adhering one end portion of a tab ofsingle-faced adhesive tape to the axially central lower marginal area of that face of the counter lining of the upper which will be hidden in the finished shoe, marking on that part of the tab which is not adhered to the counter lining an index mark and then bringing that mark into matching relationship with a gauge mark on the exposed side of the insole, and subsequently while both the upper and the insole are correctly positioned on the last, adhering the other end portion of the tab of adhesive tape to the exposed heel portion of the insole.

. 2. In a-rnethod of assembling a shoe upper on a last and of fastening the upper to an insole carried by the last with control of both the back height and alignment of the back seam the steps of marking on the spine of the last a gauge mark at the desired height for the upper, adhering one end portion of a strip of single-faced adhesive tape to the counter lining of the upper and the other end of a strip to a masking slip, inserting the counter into a pocket in the upper, placing the upper over the last, bringing the top of the upper into registration with the gauge mark on the spine of the last, adjusting the back seam of the upper to the desired vertical alignment, removing the masking slip, drawing the lasting margin of the counter lining and the now-exposed portion of the adhesive tape over the back end of the insole, and thereupon completing the assembly by adhering the free por tion of the tape to the underside of the insole.

3. In a method of assembling a lined shoe upper and insole, as defined in claim 1, characterized by the additional steps of locating the counter lining of the upper in superposed gauged relation to a stack of masking slips, adhering the tab of pressure sensitive tape to the uppermost masking slip of the stack while adhering the tab to the lining, and after locating the lining on the last, removing the masking slip and linking the lining to the insole by means of the now-exposed tab.

4. In a methodof assembling a shoe upper and insole as defined in claim 1, the additional steps of gauging the rear portion of the counter lining in superposed position above a stack of masking slips which are located to project beyond the gauged edge of the shoe upper part, applying a tab of adhesive tape to the uppermost masking slip of the stack while adhering the tab to the counter lining, and after placing the upper part upon a lastcarried insole, removing the masking slip and adhering the now-exposed adhesive faces of the tab to the exposed face of the insole.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Copeland 12-145 X Lautenschlager 12-145 X Warren 12-145 X Brauer et a1. 12-142 Klaus 36-25 Chapelle 12-145 Klaus 36-25 Brady et a1 12-142 X Ronza 12-145 Reid et a1. 12-142 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Examiner. 

1. IN A METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A SHOE UPPER IN LINKED RELATIONSHIP WITH AN INSOLE ON A LAST, THE STEPS OF ADHERING ONE END PORTION OF A TAB OF SINGLE-FACED ADHESIVE TAPE TO THE AXIALLY CENTRAL LOWER MARGINAL AREA OF THAT FACE OF THE COUNTER LINING OF THE UPPER WHICH WILL BE HIDDEN IN THE FINISHED SHOE, MARKING ON THAT PART OF THE TAB WHICH IS NOT ADHERED TO THE COUNTER LINING AN INDEX MARK AND THEN BRINGING THAT MARK INTO MATCHING RELATIONSHIP WITH A GAUGE MARK ON THE EXPOSED SIDE OF THE INSOLE, 